In Pictures: LeBron James drops new LeBron 21s honoring Lakers superstar's grandmother Freda
Nike and LeBron James are set to release two all-new Nike LeBron 21 colorways this week ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics. On the heels of James beginning preparations for the Olympic games, he has teased two all-new colorways of his signature shoe, with both drawing inspiration from his grandma, Freda.
Two colorways of the shoes are set to release, but no official date has been given for either shoe. Nevertheless, LeBron James has shared images of the two new colorways on his Instagram story, giving fans a first look at the new designs.
Both the pink and blue colorway, and the green and red rose colorway draw inspiration from the floral patterned couches many grandmothers own. While the SneakerNews post shared by James to his Instagram story didn't give a release date for the shoes, they are expected to drop this summer.
Along with the post, James wrote a heartfelt caption, dedicating the two new colorways to his grandma, Freda, writing:
"Dedicated to my granny Freda! Miss you so much!!!"
As Instagram stories automatically delete after 24 hours, you can see a screenshot of James' story post below.
Looking closely at the details of LeBron James' new Nike LeBron 21 colorway and highly anticipated LeBron 22s
As previously mentioned, LeBron James and Nike are yet to announce a release date for the Grandma's Couch colorway of the Nike LeBron 21s. While the four-time NBA champ and Sneaker News teased the release with images, there has been no release date shared.
As you can see above, the shoes, make use of cloth fabric for much of the design, with raised floral elements stitched on for added effect. A white midsole sits between the pink outsole and the floral couch pattern on one colorway, while a black midsole sits between a gum sole and the floral pattern on the other.
As many fans were quick to point out in the comments, the shoes appear to be similar to ones created by Adidas recently in collaboration with UNHEARDOF. Back in November, Adidas and UNHEARDOF released a pair of low-top lifestyle shoes dubbed the Grandma's Couch colorway.
The two designs in and of themselves are quite different, and Nike's colorway is on a performance basketball product. Nevertheless, the Grandma's couch theme seems to be one that isn't original to the new LeBron 21s.
Much like previous iterations of the Nike LeBron 21s, the shoes are expected to be priced at $200.
Of course, with the NBA season over, some fans are wondering when Nike will pivot from the LeBron 21s and release the LeBron 22s. After LeBron James teased a wear test of the LeBron 22s on Instagram earlier this month, reports have indicated that the shoes will release in September before the start of the 2024-25 NBA season.